


A Quiet Strength

by SykoShadowRose



Series: Syko's 2020 Christmas Gift Collection [9]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Cuddles, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Marrow Is A Good Boy, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:42:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28324029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SykoShadowRose/pseuds/SykoShadowRose
Summary: May is less than pleased to be trapped withanyof the Ace Ops but maybe it'll be the chance she needs to leanr that there's more to some of them than she realized.
Relationships: Marrow Amin/May Marigold, Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Series: Syko's 2020 Christmas Gift Collection [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2074167
Comments: 10
Kudos: 28





	A Quiet Strength

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Newagenewbarricade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Newagenewbarricade/gifts).



May’s lips twisted as she looked at the rubble currently trapping them in the basement of the building. She supposed if she had to be trapped with any of Ironwood’s soldiers Marrow and Clover were probably among the best for her to be stuck with, and Qrow if you counted him. She wasn’t sure she did. He didn’t act anything like a soldier and he wasn’t afraid to tell off Ironwood to his face. Those earned some serious points in his favor when it came to the Happy Huntresses. She whipped around, ready to tell Marrow off when she heard him volunteer him and her to look for another way out, but the words died on her lips at what she saw. 

Despite the way his face stayed neutral, Qrow was shivering, fine tremors blurring the lines of his body. She could see worry on Clover’s face as he tucked away his scroll and realized the hunter’s aura had to be low, which was fair. They’d been fighting Grimm before the collapse but he probably would have been fine if he hadn’t taken most of the damage by shoving them out of the way when the collapse had happened. She joined them just as Marrow removed his coat, silently holding it out for Qrow to take. She saw him pause, hesitating either because he didn’t want to take a layer from the younger man or because he didn’t want to wear Atlas colors, but he accepted it with quiet thanks, teeth chattering slightly now that his jaw wasn’t clenched to keep them still.

The Specialist took her arm and led her off, but she glanced back in time to see Clover tuck Qrow against him. May was tense as she walked beside Marrow, tugging her arm free of his grip. He seemed slightly surprised to realize he’d still been holding onto her and she wondered just what all was on his mind. If it was worry for Mantle, for the people who were still fighting? If it was worry for Qrow, because he obviously cared about the guy? She didn’t know the answer and she didn’t think she was close enough to him to ask. 

Since the building was fairly large, the basement was as well, pipes and halls leading all over the place. The narrow passes in some places forced them single file and after the first few times she couldn’t help noticing the way his tail was curled down. She tried not to stare, really she did, but he was taller than her by several inches and it was hard to ignore. _That_ brought to mind a question that had been pushing against her tongue every time they met.

“Why the military?”

Marrow paused, pale blue glancing back at her over his shoulder. He must have noticed her staring because his tail curled down more and she wondered why. Surely he knew she didn’t have a problem with faunus, she was friends with Fiona and they were trying to help the miners. But fear was rarely rational, her mind recalled. Her obvious focus was what was setting him off, not because he thought she was against his race.

“I wanted to prove that we could be more than they thought we were…” His voice was quiet, calling her back to the question she’d asked. “I wanted to try to make a difference.” She snorted in derision because if that's what he was trying to accomplish he never should have joined. He tossed her a wane smile. “Growing up, my mom always taught me that when you need to clean, you start from the top and work your way down. I figured that if I could get up high enough, I could prove we weren’t _less_ because of what we are and then I could try to change some things…”

That… made a lot of sense actually, now that he’d explained the thought process behind it. There was a quiet endurance needed to go about things the way that he was and she could admire that. She was more of an “in your face” personality, taking things head on, but his method of silently working things through had it’s merits. May figured that maybe she should be a little more considerate of the reasons behind the actions people took before jumping to conclusions. The group of teens helping Ironwood were more like the Happy Huntresses than the Ace Ops, after all, but they still believed in whatever the General was doing. Didn’t mean she wasn’t going to continue taking the supplies Mantle needed, but she might not give them as hard a time about it as before at least.

~*~

“How’re you holding up?” The question whispered through his hair, his head tucked under Clover’s chin where he was curled against the Captain’s chest. 

Clover knew why he’d jumped to get everyone else to safety, why he’d taken the hit so the rest of them wouldn’t have to, but he hadn’t brought it up yet. Qrow was grateful but he was also pretty sure that Clover was just waiting until they were back at Atlas to bring it up. He pulled the coat around him more tightly, sighing as he considered how to answer and come up with an answer he was certain the other wouldn’t be entirely pleased with.

“Could have been worse.”

He felt it as Clover sighed, but again the man said nothing, holding onto him to take some of the pressure off his fading aura. A hand rubbed at his back through the thick coat and he was once again grateful to the kid for giving it to him, even if he felt guilty for taking it Marrow was out there in the halls trying to find them a way out, surely he needed it more, right? But the blue eyes had been too hopeful and earnest for him to turn down. He’d never been one to argue with puppy eyes (faunus trait not taken into consideration) and most of his kids knew it by now. He wondered if they’d passed that information on to the youngest Operative. He wouldn’t put it past them, honestly. 

~*~

Marrow sighed in relief as they found another door leading up and out. They had been banking on the size of the building for there to be more than one exit and it had paid off, thankfully. He turned to smile at May, ready to hurry back so they could get Qrow back where he could recover but a hand around his wrist stopped him. He turned back to see what May needed but she wasn’t looking at him, yellow eyes staring at the wall. 

“I may not know what it’s like to be a faunus but I know what it’s like to be different. And what you’re doing? It takes a specific kind of strength and patience that a lot of us in the Huntresses don’t have.”

Marrow’s head tipped, tail wagging slightly in interest. “Different?”

“Maybe I’ll tell you another time. Come on, your friend needs to get out of the cold.” She passed him, heading back for the others and Marrow smiled. “Another time” meant that they’d get to spend more time together in the future. It was a nebulous promise but he’d take it if it meant he might get to know the Huntress better.


End file.
